East Sussex County Council cut average staff dispute costs from £18,000 to £2,400

In a presentation to the Civil Mediation Council’s 2012 Conference, a spokesperson from the Human Resources department of East Sussex County Council reported on an in-house mediation programme it had undertaken.

While the number of disputes at East Sussex County Council was always small compared with the size of its workforce, the operational and emotional impact of dealing with them was significant.

The scheme was aimed at avoiding staff disputes being resolved by reference to litigation in the Courts or Employment Tribunals.  It had proven an enormous success.  The following was reported:

• An increase of 11,200 work days across the organisation
• An increase in productivity measured at £1.3 million
• Savings in legal fees, with the average cost of mediation being £2,400 as opposed to an average of £18,000 for a formal dispute.

Their approach, and resulting success was journaled in an article for Personnel Today.

Mediation is a key part of the Government’s plans for employment law reform. It hopes that by referring all employment disputes to mediation it will reduce the number of tribunals that take place.

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